Egypt to reclaim Roman-Greek mask from Germany: Ministry of Antiquities

CAIRO: Egypt will reclaim an archeological mask, dating from the
Roman-Greco era, in the period between 500 and 300 B.C. from Germany,
announced Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Damaty Sunday.
The mask was returned by a German national to the Egyptian Culture Center in Berlin, under his late mother’s will, Damaty added.
The Ministry will assign a committee to receive and restore the mask
that will be displayed later in an Egyptian museum, said Antiquities
Ministry’s Restored Artifacts Department (RAD) head Ahmed Aly.
He noted that Egypt will organize a temporary exhibition at the
Egyptian Museum to display the reclaimed antiquities in the latest
period. Ali did not mention further details concerning the new
exhibition.
In June, Egypt stopped the sale of a 2,700 year-old Egyptian statue that was put up for sale in a Germany-based auction hall, Aly Ahmed told The Cairo Post in previous remarks.
In March, it was reported that pieces of Egyptian artifacts
shown in a mass exhibition, will be returned to Egypt after restoration
in Germany in light of cooperation between both countries.
Egypt’s ancient sites have been targeted for thousands of years but
the upheavals and the security lapse following the 2011 revolution have
helped looters and tomb robbers target museums and several
archaeological sites for treasures to sell on the black market.Additional reporting by Rany Mostafa.